As the temperatures in Jacksonville climbed, we kept busy with chores that could let us beat the heat indoors. And the church had another transition as we said goodbye to the Interim Pastor Mike on his last Sunday at Faith.
Tech Upgrades
With our extended stay in Jacksonville, Dave had time to purchase and configure a replacement office computer for the church. The old one had been experiencing problems that made it worrisome that its days were numbered. Once in place, we could work through any issues with the transition while we were still here. He also was able to implement a routine cloud backup that was less manual than the process that had been used.
He also wanted to make the office network more secure, so we installed a separate router for the office computers and printer. In the process we learned that the printer configuration was not set up properly, so Dave was able to fix that as well.
Cathy spent several hours on the phone with Comcast to resolve some billing issues. The church had changed the services it was purchasing, but the changes were not being reflected on the bill. After some escalation, she was able to get the credits earned, plus a little for the inconvenience.
With our extended stay in Jacksonville, Dave had time to purchase and configure a replacement office computer for the church. The old one had been experiencing problems that made it worrisome that its days were numbered. Once in place, we could work through any issues with the transition while we were still here. He also was able to implement a routine cloud backup that was less manual than the process that had been used.
He also wanted to make the office network more secure, so we installed a separate router for the office computers and printer. In the process we learned that the printer configuration was not set up properly, so Dave was able to fix that as well.
Cathy spent several hours on the phone with Comcast to resolve some billing issues. The church had changed the services it was purchasing, but the changes were not being reflected on the bill. After some escalation, she was able to get the credits earned, plus a little for the inconvenience.
Ebenezer Methodist celebrating their new bus. And other stuff
With no other volunteers on campus, our days’ activities vary greatly, so each day sees us doing lots of different things. One day, we made a trip to the clerk of courts to file some paperwork for the church. On another day it was a trip across town to Ebenezer Methodist to visit the DMV and transfer a bus to them. Cathy spent some time checking out locks that weren’t working as expected, making a replacement along with some keys. With the reorganized space in the containers, she also spent time making labels to mark the new locations of the plumbing supplies.
With no other volunteers on campus, our days’ activities vary greatly, so each day sees us doing lots of different things. One day, we made a trip to the clerk of courts to file some paperwork for the church. On another day it was a trip across town to Ebenezer Methodist to visit the DMV and transfer a bus to them. Cathy spent some time checking out locks that weren’t working as expected, making a replacement along with some keys. With the reorganized space in the containers, she also spent time making labels to mark the new locations of the plumbing supplies.
Pastor Ricardo and Dave work to descale his hot water heater. Dave worked with Pastor Ricardo to set up the Spanish phone messages and call routing on the new phone system. And they also worked together to descale Pastor Ricardo’s hot water heater, repeating the process we had done on ours a few weeks earlier.
But perhaps the most unusual project we took on was to install a mail slot in the office door. Since the office is only staffed Monday through Thursday, mail deliveries on Friday and Saturday were sporadic. By installing a mail slot, the postal carrier could deliver any day. The mail slot frame was hard to come by, but we found one at the local Ace Hardware. Then, we had to cut the slot out of a section of the door that was 2 inches thick. But we managed to get it cut out and install the frame successfully. And the mail can now be delivered 5 days a week.
Hello Goodbye
One of the benefits of our delayed departure was that we would be at Faith for the transition to their new pastor. Faith’s interim pastor, Pastor Mike, was leaving just before the end of May, and the church was preparing to welcome its new full-time pastor, Pastor Michael (a little bit of confusion there), who would arrive on May 31st. On Pastor Mike’s last Sunday, we said goodbye with a reception after church, thanking him for all that he did to help guide the church during the 5 months of his tenure.
During that next week, we helped prepare for Pastor Michael’s arrival. Cathy updated the church’s website, and Dave coordinated the email transition for the pastor’s email account. On the following Friday which was a sweltering end to the month of May, Michael and Lucie arrived. We happened to be in the office as he dropped off boxes, and later that day we were installing the mail slot as they returned to be treated to a dinner in Wesley Hall. We would have a couple more weeks to get to know them before we would be heading out.
Health Update
Dave’s test results from his endoscopy (mentioned in last month’s update) showed no serious problems, so we were given the green light to head out. It was time to start making plans for travels north to (hopefully) cooler weather.
One of the benefits of our delayed departure was that we would be at Faith for the transition to their new pastor. Faith’s interim pastor, Pastor Mike, was leaving just before the end of May, and the church was preparing to welcome its new full-time pastor, Pastor Michael (a little bit of confusion there), who would arrive on May 31st. On Pastor Mike’s last Sunday, we said goodbye with a reception after church, thanking him for all that he did to help guide the church during the 5 months of his tenure.
During that next week, we helped prepare for Pastor Michael’s arrival. Cathy updated the church’s website, and Dave coordinated the email transition for the pastor’s email account. On the following Friday which was a sweltering end to the month of May, Michael and Lucie arrived. We happened to be in the office as he dropped off boxes, and later that day we were installing the mail slot as they returned to be treated to a dinner in Wesley Hall. We would have a couple more weeks to get to know them before we would be heading out.
Health Update
Dave’s test results from his endoscopy (mentioned in last month’s update) showed no serious problems, so we were given the green light to head out. It was time to start making plans for travels north to (hopefully) cooler weather.
Parting Shot
We’ve stayed late enough in Florida that the crepe myrtles have started to bloom.
We’ve stayed late enough in Florida that the crepe myrtles have started to bloom.
